VIDEO: Is Chicago the next Detroit?

While parallels have been drawn between Detroit and Chicago for their huge unfunded pension liabilities, Jack Ablin of BMO Private Bank says his hometown is in an entirely different position. Says Ablin, Chicago’s population is stable and growing and real estate prices are rising, whereas Detroit’s demise has been a slow and steady decline that started in the 1970s.

VIDEO: Obama Makes Pitch for Mortgage Reform in AZ

President Obama is proposing to overhaul the nation’s mortgage finance system, including making 30-year mortgages widely available to borrowers, even in a system that would rely more on the private sector than the government to guarantee loans. (Aug.6)

VIDEO: NRF Prices Third Offering in Eight Months

This morning, NorthStar Realty Finance (NRF) priced is common share offering of 35 million shares at the price of $9.60 each — leaving the underwriters a 30 day window to purchase an additional 5.25 million shares. NorthStar has offered common shares two other times in the past eight months, pricing 25 million shares at $6.40 in December and 30 million shares priced at $8.39 in February.